Reconfigurable elements are designed differently depending on the application to be executed and according to the application.
A reconfigurable architecture in the present context refers to modules or units having a configurable function and/or interconnection—Virtual Processing Units (VPUs)—in particular integrated modules having a plurality of arithmetic, logic, analog, memory, and/or internal/external interconnecting modules in one or more dimensions that are interconnected directly or via a bus system.
The generic type of such units includes in particular systolic arrays, neural networks, multiprocessor systems, processors having a plurality of arithmetic units and/or logic cells, communicative/peripheral cells (IO), interconnection and network modules such as crossbar switches, and/or known modules of the generic types Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Dynamically Programmable Gate Array (DPGA), Chameleon, XPUTER, etc. Reference is made in this connection in particular to the following patents and patent applications that have a common assignee with the present application, and all of which are incorporated herein by reference: DE 44 16 881.0-53, DE 197 81 412.3, DE 197 81 483.2, DE 196 54 846.2-53, DE 196 54 593.5-53, DE 197 04 044.6-53, DE 198 80 129.7, DE 198 61 088.2-53, DE 199 80 312.9, PCT/DE 00/01869, DE 100 36 627.9-33, DE 100 28 397.7, DE 101 10 530.4, DE 101 11 014.6, PCT/EP 00/10516, EP 01 102 674.7, DE 196 51 075.9-53, DE 196 54 846.2-53, DE 196 54 593.5-53, DE 197 04 728.9, DE 198 07 872.2, DE 101 39 170.6, DE 199 26 538.0, DE 101 42 904.5, DE 102 06 653.1, DE 102 06 857.7, DE 100 28 397.7, DE 101 10 530.4, DE 102.02 044.2, DE 101 29 237.6-53, DE 101 42 904.5, DE 100 50 442.6, DE 101 35 210.7-53, EP 02 001 331.4, 60/317,876.
The architecture mentioned above is used for illustration and is referred to below as a VPU. This architecture is composed of any arithmetic or logic cells (including memories), memory cells, interconnection cells, and/or communicative/peripheral (IO) cells (PAEs) which may be arranged in a one-dimensional or multi-dimensional matrix (PA). The matrix may have different cells of any desired design. The bus systems are also understood to be cells herein. A configuration unit (CT, load logic), which configures the interconnection and function of the PA, may be assigned to the matrix as a whole or parts thereof. The CT may be designed, for example, as a dedicated unit according to PACT05, PACT10, PACT17 or a host microprocessor system according to DE 44 16 881.0-53, DE 102 06 856.9, and assigned to the PA and/or implemented with the help of or through PAs.
Different PAE structures are known from the related art. The most conventional ones are defined in DE 196 51 075.9-53 and DE 100 50 442.6, as well as Chameleon CS2112. In addition, reference should also be made to the known FPGA cells.
From the university environment, cell structures such as DPGAs, RawMachine (DeHuon), KressArrays (Kress, University of Kaiserslautern), XPUTER (Hartenstein, University of Kaiserslautern) as well as other structures are known.